Overview of the National Policy on Inclusive Special Education in Rio Grande do Norte: A Descriptive Analysis of Microdata from the Basic Education School Census (2008–2023)

Abstract

This article analyzes the effects of the National Policy on Special Education in the Perspective of Inclusive Education (NPSPIE/2008) within the contexts of Rio Grande do Norte and its capital, Natal. Initially, a bibliographic and documentary review was conducted, along with the collection and analysis of microdata from the Basic Education School Census (2008–2023), focusing on the enrollment of students with special needs(SEN) and the provision of Specialized Educational Support (SES). Grounded in historical-dialectical materialism, the analysis conceptualizes the State as an expression of class contradictions and hegemonic disputes, mediated by civil society, which functions as a space for ideological dissemination and the configuration of public policies. The findings indicate an increase in SEN student enrollment in mainstream education, as well as an expansion in the provision of SES in both regular and specialized schools. However, these advances have not overcome the selective and exclusionary nature of the system, which remains marked by the insufficient number of institutions offering SES and the persistence of a parallel educational model. The significant presence of private institutions, both in maintaining special schools and in delivering SES, reveals the persistence of a dual logic that contradicts the principle of full inclusion. In light of this, it becomes urgent to question the effectiveness of the current policy and its structural limitations, demanding from the State a genuine commitment to the universalization of the right to education, guided by the pursuit of social justice and the overcoming of the historical inequalities that pervade the field of Special Education.